Dr. Stripling pointed out that the Agrippa coin that was discovered was the same type of Agrippa coin discovered by ABR’s archaeologists at Khirbet el-Maqatir (the site ABR believes is the Conquest city of Ai). Dr. Stipling wrote about the Agrippa coin discovered at Maqatir in an article for ABR’s
Bible and Spade magazine entitled,
Maqatir Monastery Money, which we share here as our bonus article for the month of February.

In 1654 James Ussher, archbishop of Armagh in Ireland, published his Annals of the World, in Latin. An English translation was made available in 1658, two years after Ussher’s death. Bishop William Lloyd put Ussher’s chronology, with some of his own modifications, in the margins of a 1701 edition of the Bible. For many years the King James Version was printed with these dates. This led many to believe that Ussher’s dates were “the” Bible chronology, a position which is defended by some writers to this day.

After the Tabernacle was moved from the vicinity of Gilgal in the Jordan Valley to Shiloh in the Hill Country (Jos 18:1), seven tribes remained “who had not yet received their inheritance” (Jos 18:2)...

For decades, scholars have claimed that the archaeological record shows that the account found in Joshua 7-8 is not historical. Join co-host Henry Smith and Dr. Bryant Wood, Director of Excavations at Khirbet el-Maqatir (1995-2013). See how the archaeological evidence matches the Biblical account (Part Two).

For decades, scholars have claimed that the archaeological record shows that the account found in Joshua 7-8 is not historical. Join co-host Henry Smith and Dr. Bryant Wood, Director of Excavations at Khirbet el-Maqatir (1995-2013). See how the archaeological evidence matches the Biblical account (Part One).

Did the Walls of Jericho come tumbling down at the time indicated in the book of Joshua? Join co-host Scott Lanser as he explores this question with expert archaeologist Dr. Bryant Wood in part two of this two part interview.

Did the Walls of Jericho come tumbling down at the time indicated in the book of Joshua? Join co-host Scott Lanser as he explores this question with expert archaeologist Dr. Bryant Wood in part one of this two part interview.

ABR Associate and Khirbet el-Maqatir dig staff member, Dr. Brian Peterson, recently had a detailed article published in the Near East Archaeological Society Bulletin (Vol. 61, 2016) about the ram's head figurine his team discovered...

Since the onset of "scientific" Middle Eastern archaeology in the mid-19th century and the deciphering of ancient languages and texts, biblical scholarship has come to understand the indispensable relevance of ancient Near East (ANE) studies to the historical, cultural, and religious background of the Scriptures, in particular of the Old Testament...

An inscription in modern day Sudan contains the oldest known reference to the God of Israel, "Yahweh." Soleb, a temple dedicated to the god Amon-Re, was built by the Pharaoh Amenhotep III in ca. 1400 BC. Today it is located in the nation of Sudan, on the left bank of the Nile about 135 miles south of Wadi-Halfa.

Whew!!! We finished the three weeks of excavations and even added an additional day. As was previously noted in our weekly reports, the dig season revealed many great features and artifacts that assist in understanding the society of the various occupational levels at Khirbet el-Maqatir. Everything from the walls revealed, the pottery re-constructed, the objects photographed, and even the color of the soil excavated provide clues to help reconstruct the biblical past. But, now it is time to branch out from Maqatir and get that bigger picture of the Bible that only comes from visiting the places we read about in Scripture. But where to start?

The third week of our final season ended in a fashion typical of final days at Maqatir over the past few years. Silos, underground networks of tunnels, mosaic floors, and coins from a variety of eras all came to light in the last few days of our dig season...

The days have blended together this week. We added an extra dig day Sunday due to our rained out day last week. Everyone was a bit unsure what day it actually was, but this we do know: It’s now the weekend!...

Are the stories of the Bible history, or mythology? The science of archaeology can help to provide the answer. On January 30, 2016, Kevin Conover of the Educate for Life radio program interviewed Dr. Scott Stripling and Dr. Bryant Wood of ABR.

When the Israelites crossed the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land, the waters were miraculously blocked so that they were able to cross on dry land: “the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam…while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off” (Joshua 3:16).

With the 2015 summer dig season complete, 22 volunteers took a day of rest (Shabbat) before embarking on a series of field trips in the Holy Land. While many of the sites visited are well-known, just as many are not well known to many of the group. But where to start?

Grain, oil and wine were so frequently mentioned in the Old Testament that they probably represented the most significant food sources in the Holy Land during that period. Together they would have been the most regularly accessible sources of carbohydrates, proteins and fats—essential to basic nutrition, let alone survival year by year. But, of the three, cereal grains were truly the “staff of life” for the Old Testament world. At least potentially, every family had the opportunity to grow sufficient amounts in their own fields annually—sufficient to survive another season, as well as provide seed for the following year.

2015 marks the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the Khirbet el-Maqatir dig and also the 13th season of excavations at the site. We had some extra work to do at the beginning of the week in order to clean up the destruction caused by vandals following our 2014 spring season. The beautifully-preserved walls of a first-century town, which we worked hard to uncover from 2011 to 2014, sadly were demolished. After a few days of hard work, we are now excavating in all areas...

The battle of Jericho is one of the bloodiest episodes of the Old Testament. It’s a fantastic tale of victory through faith—but is there any truth behind the story? Archaeologist Dr. Bryant Wood believes the physical evidence indicates the biblical account is true.

The one event that shaped the world more than any other during the last century was World War II. Conservative estimates place the number killed during the conflict as well north of 55,000,000 (http://www.historyonthenet.com/WW2/statistics.htm). In Europe, the war officially began in September of 1939 with Germany’s invasion of Poland. Over succeeding months, the German Wehrmacht would sweep through and take Norway, Denmark, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

From November 19-21 2014, over 2,500 men and women converged on San Diego, CA with the sole intent of discussing various aspects of Christianity. It was the annual Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) meeting. Through a series of plenary sessions and many parallel sessions, these scholars listened to presentations and papers related to ecclesiology - the study of the Christian Church - or on topics related to specific study areas...

Although Megiddo has been extensively chronicled in extra-biblical sources, it is only mentioned 12 times in the OT1 and once, indirectly, as Armageddon in the NT (Rv 16:16). Most Christians know the book of Revelation prophesies an end-times battle that will be fought at a place called Armageddon (Rv 16:16), and many know that Armageddon is, in fact, a corruption of the Greek word, Ἁρμαγεδών (Harmagedon) or “the hill of Megiddo.” A 35-acre (14 hectare) mound, 200 ft (60 m) high, in northwest Israel called Tell el-Mutesellim is believed to be the site of Megiddo.

For many years, Jericho has been a "problem" in Biblical archaeology since scholars claimed that there was no city there at the time of Joshua and therefore the Bible must be in error. Here in Part Three, biblical archaeologist Dr. Bryant Wood and members of the ABR staff finish their discussion of the archaeological findings at Jericho that relate to the conquest of the Canaanite city by the Israelites.

For many years, Jericho has been a "problem" in Biblical archaeology since scholars claimed that there was no city there at the time of Joshua and therefore the Bible must be in error. Here in Part Two, biblical archaeologist Dr. Bryant Wood and members of the ABR staff discuss the archaeological findings at Jericho that relate to the conquest of the Canaanite city by the Israelites.

Ted W. Wright serves as the Executive Director of CrossExamined.org, a Christian apologetics ministry. Ted has an M.A. in Christian apologetics with a concentration in philosophy from Southern Evangelical Seminary. Ted joined the excavation team at Khirbet el-Maqatir during the 2014 season.

Week one of the 12th season of excavations at Khirbet el-Maqatir is over. It is Saturday and we didn’t have to get up at 3:45AM, eat breakfast at 4:15 and be on the bus at 5:00! But the first 5 days of digging were worth it, producing some AMAZING results.

On February 8, 2014, a symposium was held at Houston Baptist University in conjunction with the new archaeological exhibit, " Khirbet el-Maqatir: History of a Biblical Site." In this video, Dr. Eugene Merrill presents, "Ai and Old Testament Chronology: Who Cares?"

On February 8, 2014, a symposium was held at Houston Baptist University in conjunction with the new archaeological exhibit, " Khirbet el-Maqatir: History of a Biblical Site." Dr. Bryant Wood presented the evidence from eleven seasons of excavations at Khirbet el-Maqatir. No other site meets all the criteria necessary to be the Ai of Joshua 7-8.

"Ai is simply an embarrassment to every view of the conquest that takes the biblical and archaeological evidence seriously."
This is what Bible critics have been saying for decades about the Israelite battle at Ai in Joshua 7-8...

Thank you for praying for our 11th season of excavations at Khirbet el-Maqatir May 20–31. God gave us safety, with only one noteworthy accident (a broken rib), wonderful volunteers and many significant discoveries. I reported a year ago that our 2012 season was the best yet, apart from the finding of the gate in our first season. But the 2013 season eclipsed the 2012 season in terms of the importance of the finds.

We have just finished our first week of excavation at Khirbet el-Maqatir 9 miles north of Jerusalem in Israel’s West Bank. Dr. Bryant Wood and a team of 41 are staying at the Yad HaShmonah dig headquarters, while other friends have joined the group almost every day.

The problem addressed in this article is the arbitration among the three alternative views of the conquest of Ai narrative summarized in Part One. This is accomplished by testing the correspondence between the narrative in question and the material time-space context it purports to represent. Part Four is the conclusion of this series.

The problem addressed in this article is the arbitration among the three alternative views of the conquest of Ai narrative summarized in Part One. This is accomplished by testing the correspondence between the narrative in question and the material time-space context it purports to represent. Part Three...

On Sunday March 10, the History Channel will air Part Two of the five-part series, "The Bible". Last week's episode ended with a preview of Joshua and the Israelites planning to attack the Canaanite city of Jericho...

The problem addressed in this article is the arbitration among the three alternative views of the conquest of Ai narrative summarized in Part One. This is accomplished by testing the correspondence between the narrative in question and the material time-space context it purports to represent. Part Two...

According to the theory of true narratives, if the conquest of Ai narrative is factual, then it must necessarily correspond to the material time-space context to which it purports to be connected and which it purports to represent. From careful exegesis of the text of the conquest of Ai narrative in the 7 and 8 chapters of the Book of Joshua, a 14 parameter criterial screen is derived to assess the correspondence between the narrative and the three candidate sites for Joshua’s Ai that emerge from past research. Through the analysis summarized in this paper, Khirbet el-Maqatir is demonstrated to be the site of the fortress of Ai, and the conquest of Ai narrative is demonstrated to meet the criteria for being a true narrative.

ABR has conducted extensive research on the historicity of the Conquest narratives of the Old Testament. Regularly, we receive inquiries about the moral and theological dimensions of these events. Committed Christians are often perplexed about how to answer objections posed by skeptics. Those self-same skeptics often contact ABR, railing against God because of these events recorded in Scripture. This article seeks, in part, to deal with some of these issues by interacting with an article published in the book: "The Impossibility of God". Part II is found here.

ABR has conducted extensive research on the historicity of the Conquest narratives of the Old Testament. Regularly, we receive inquiries about the moral and theological dimensions of these events. Committed Christians are often perplexed about how to answer objections posed by skeptics. Those self-same skeptics often contact ABR, railing against God because of these events recorded in Scripture. This article seeks, in part, to deal with some of these issues by interacting with an article published in the book: "The Impossibility of God".

For the third year, ABR Associate Dr. Scott Stripling led a team of diggers to Israel to excavate the Byzantine monastery at Khirbet el-Maqatir. Joining Scott and his team was Dee Alberty from Baton Rouge, LA. Dee shares her experiences in Part 2 of this diary.

For the third year, ABR Associate Dr. Scott Stripling led a team of diggers to Israel to excavate the Byzantine monastery at Khirbet el-Maqatir. Joining Scott and his team was Dee Alberty from Baton Rouge, LA. Dee shares her experiences in this diary.

For me the physical start of what I am calling the Maqatir Expedition began on 20 May with a departure from Norfolk International Airport in Virginia; first to Philadelphia to catch an international flight to Tel Avi, Israel, then spending two weeks excavating, and finally flying home on 4 June. In reality, the expedition started a few months earlier when I began to consider participating in the Associates for Biblical Research (ABR) sponsored excavation at Khirbet el-Maqatir.

We recently received an email from a visitor concerning the Conquest of Canaan. He sent us an excerpt from an undergraduate course at Yale, outlining the standard liberal view on the chronology and historicity of the book of Joshua. Dr. Bryant Wood responds.

In March of 2012, Dr. Bryant Wood visited the campus of Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary. During that time, he presented ABR's research to the DBTS faculty. This audio presentation concerns ABR's work at Khirbet el-Maqatir and the City of Ai from Joshua 7 and 8.

The tenth excavation season of the ABR-sponsored dig at Khirbet el-Maqatir was conducted from May 28 to June 8, 2012, under the direction of the author.[1] The following report provides readers with the most up to date information from our excavations in Israel as we continue to uncover evidence related to the events of Joshua chapters 7-8.

At our final debriefing on Friday evening June 8th, Dig Director Dr. Bryant Wood, noted that this was probably the most productive season in our 10-year excavation at Khirbet el-Maqatir (KeM) in relation to illuminating all 4 occupation periods at our site – Late Bronze 1 (time of Joshua), Iron Age 1 (period of the Judges), Early Roman (New Testament time) and the Byzantine period (5th century AD).

With our dig team of almost 40 people, this may have been our most productive and interesting week in 10 years of our excavation. With 15 squares open we have found stuff from the time of Joshua (15th century BC) to the Byzantines (5th century AD).

In 1990, Dr. Bryant Wood published his well known article in Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR) on the destruction of Jericho and its correlation with the Biblical account. In the Sep./Oct. 1990 issue of BAR, Piotr Bienkowski wrote an article disputing Dr. Wood's conclusions. The following article engages with Bienkowski's criticisms, providing the reader with an in-depth analysis of some of the work done at Jericho, and demonstrating Dr. Wood's expertise and thorough familiarity with the evidence. This article provides some additional data not published in Dr. Wood's first BAR article, thus adding to the mountain of evidence demonstrating that Jericho was destroyed around 1400 B.C., the same time the Bible records that the events of Joshua 3-6 took place.

After a hiatus of nine years due to political unrest in Israel, the Associates for Biblical Research resumed excavations at Kh. el-Maqatir for a seventh season May 22–June 5, 2009, and an eighth season May 24–June 4, 2010, under the direction of the author. In 2009, 23 volunteers from the US and Canada, plus a number of local residents participated. In 2010, 38 volunteers from the US, Australia and Israel made up the dig team. The site is located in the West Bank 9 mi (15 km) north of Jerusalem. Finds continue to support the identification of the site as the Ai of Joshua 7–8.

The Winter 2012 issue of Bible and Spade may be the most important issue we have ever produced. It is dedicated to the subject of child sacrifice in the ancient world and Israel, and modern day abortion. This article is being reproduced here in conjunction with the release of this issue. In it, Meredith Kline demonstrates that the law of Moses considered the fetus to be fully human, affording the child legal protection while in the womb. We pray that this issue of Bible and Spade and our online articles will help changes hearts and minds on this critically important subject.

The 9th season of the Associates for Biblical Research’s (ABR) excavation at Khirbet el-Maqatir was held in May and June, 2011. All 9 seasons have been sponsored by ABR and under the direction of Dr. Bryant Wood. Located 9 miles north of Jerusalem in Israel’s West Bank, we call this dig “The Search for Joshua’s Ai at Khirbet el-Maqatir”.

On Friday June 3, we finished the 9th season of ABR’s Excavation at Khirbet el-Maqatir. Before the day was over, we had been treated to a second breakfast by the Palestinian family who has stored our tools for the last 3 dig seasons, we hosted a visit by the Master’s College IBEX study tour group, we filmed 3 YouTube videos and wrapped up our excavation.

I got lost in a flurry of activity this week and have missed a couple days of reporting. Today is Saturday and a bunch of us went to the Shabbat service with Jewish believers in Jesus here at Yad HaShmonah. Earlier this morning we actually experienced the latter (spring) rains frequently mentioned in the Scriptures. This one, a short but hard downpour about 9 AM, was a really later latter (spring) rain for this country. But, in all honestly, it brought no significant relief from the heat – 96 degrees yesterday!

For the first day of the dig, we were pretty pleased at how well we got things going. Today, we got into our squares in earnest. While pottery, tools, weapons and jewelry are interesting, my favorite find in archaeology is architecture. Walls and floors make me a happy archaeologist, and today I was really feeling it!

Tomorrow we begin the first day of excavation at Khirbet el-Maqatir, 10 miles north of Jerusalem in Israel’s West Bank. Directed by Dr. Bryant Wood, this is the dig’s 9th season, all sponsored by the Associates for Biblical Research.

When one hears about the conquest, one automatically thinks about the conquest of the land west of the Jordan River described in the book of Joshua and Judges 1. The area is commonly referred to as Canaan, the Promised Land or Cisjordan. Prior to crossing the Jordan River and claiming this territory, however, Israel conquered lands east of the Jordan River in the area known as Transjordan. Although this “forgotten” conquest is described in only a few short verses in Numbers 21, with additional details given in several other passages, the territory captured was large, extending from the mid-point of the Dead Sea in the south to Mt. Hermon in the north, a straight-line distance of some 140 mi (225 km) (see map). By comparison, the distance from Dan to Beersheba in the Promised Land is about 145 mi (233 km).

Dr. Bryant Wood walks the audience through the archaeological evidence pertaining to the Conquest of the Biblical city of Ai, discussing the scholarly debate, the evidence he has encovered, and the case for Khirbet el-Maqatir as the Ai of Joshua.

Dr. Bryant Wood walks the audience through the archaeological evidence pertaining to the Conquest of the Biblical city of Ai, discussing the scholarly debate, the evidence he has encovered, and the case for Khirbet el-Maqatir as the Ai of Joshua.

Dr. Bryant Wood walks the audience through the archaeological evidence pertaining to the Conquest of the Biblical city of Ai, discussing the scholarly debate, the evidence he has encovered, and the case for Khirbet el-Maqatir as the Ai of Joshua.

Dr. Bryant Wood walks the audience through the archaeological evidence pertaining to the Conquest of the Biblical city of Ai, discussing the scholarly debate, the evidence he has encovered, and the case for Khirbet el-Maqatir as the Ai of Joshua.

Undoubtedly, one of the hottest topics in the field of OT biblical studies in recent years is the dating of the Exodus.[1] Essentially, there are two prevailing positions: the early Exodus view, which contends that the Israelite Exodus transpired during the middle of the 15th century BC, and the late Exodus view, which purports that the Israelites actually left Egypt nearly 200 years later, during the 13th century BC. On the side of the latter view, biblical archaeologists such as James Hoffmeier contend that a 13th century BC Exodus better fits the material evidence, in large part due to alleged connections between sites mentioned in the biblical text—such as the store-city of Raamses (Exod 1:11), which he asserts “is likely to be equated with the Delta capital built by and named for Ramesses II, that is, Pi-Ramesses”[2]—and excavated or identifiable sites in Egypt.

Dr. Bryant Wood walks the audience through the archaeological evidence pertaining to the Conquest of the Biblical city of Ai, discussing the scholarly debate, the evidence he has encovered, and the case for Khirbet el-Maqatir as the Ai of Joshua.

Dr. Bryant Wood walks the audience through the archaeological evidence pertaining to the Conquest of the Biblical city of Ai, discussing the scholarly debate, the evidence he has encovered, and the case for Khirbet el-Maqatir as the Ai of Joshua.

Dr. Bryant Wood walks the audience through the archaeological evidence pertaining to the Conquest of the Biblical city of Ai, discussing the scholarly debate, the evidence he has encovered, and the case for Khirbet el-Maqatir as the Ai of Joshua.

This summer was the 21th season of the Hazor archaeological excavation. It was conducted from June 20 to July 30, 2010, under the able leadership of the co-directors: Professor Amnon Ben-Tor and Dr. Sharon Zuckerman. Most of our efforts for this season were concentrated in Area M on the northern slopes of the Upper City overlooking the Lower City. The co-area supervisors in charge of this area were Sharon Zuckerman and Shlomit Becher. This was my eighth season excavating at Hazor and I can honestly say it was the most pleasant, productive, and interesting season I have experienced at Hazor...

Jesus and the woman at Jacob’s well in John 4 is an excellent example of the importance of context in developing a passage. The story takes place near the Old Testament city of Shechem. Shechem is mentioned 60 times in the Old Testament. The city had been abandoned by New Testament times, but Stephen reiterates its importance in his speech in Acts 7:16. A small village, Sychar, was near the ruins of Shechem in New Testament times and is mentioned in the John 4 account (Jn 4:5). Unfortunately, most Bible studies of events at or near Shechem, and commentaries on the Book of John, omit Shechem’s pivotal role in Bible history and how it fit into God’s salvation plan.

Here are moving pictures from the 2010 season of The Search for Joshua's Ai at Khirbet el-Maqatir. This video and accompanying music were produced by Nathan Lundquist. Many thanks to Nathan and his wife Whitney for this excellent video and for helping ABR on the Dig.

After the Israelites defeated Jericho in the southern Jordan Valley, they then attacked the fortress of Ai in the highlands (Jos 7–8). Both of these sites have produced archaeological findings that have seemed to be in conflict with the Bible. Scholars have been quick to point out that these discrepancies lead to the conclusion that there was no Conquest as described in the book of Joshua. But is the problem with the Bible or with the interpretations of the archaeologists?

It was not until I was doing research for my Ph.D. thesis in the early 1980s that my attention was drawn to the findings at Jericho. In reviewing all of the published pottery from the Late Bronze Age in Palestine, I came across John Garstang’s pottery from the cemetery and destruction level at Jericho. Although earlier than the focus of my thesis, I was struck by the amount of pottery he had published that dated to the Late Bronze I period (ca. 1500–1400 BC), the time of the Conquest and the very time period Kathleen Kenyon said was missing from the tell...

Infant jar burials beneath the floors of domestic houses are a relatively common find at archaeological sites in Israel. They are mostly from the Middle Bronze period, less common in Late Bronze I and unknown in Late Bronze II. The infant jar burial excavated by the ABR team during the 2009 season at Kh. el-Maqatir, although similar to other known examples, is unique in that Kh. el-Maqatir is a fortress and not an urban center...

This year the Hazor archaeological excavation was conducted from June 21-July 31, 2009 under the able leadership of the co-directors: Professor Amnon Ben-Tor and Dr. Sharon Zuckerman. Most of our efforts for this season were concentrated in Area M on the northern slopes of the Upper City overlooking the Lower City. In charge of this area were the co-area supervisors: Sharon Zuckerman and Shlomit Becher...

This DVD extensively features Dr. Bryant Wood on the ground in Israel at the site of Jericho. The evidence from Jericho is presented, the basics of archaeology are explained, and the history of excavations at Jericho are also outlined. Jericho Unearthed has a cutting edge feel and presentation that is useful for Bible study, Sunday school and teaching teenagers. Jericho Unearthed can be used by Christians scholars and laymen alike as an effective witnessing tool in support of the Bible's inerrancy and historical reliability.

After a hiatus of nine years, ABR has resumed work at Kh. el-Maqatir, a promising candidate for Joshua’s Ai (Joshua 7–8). The site is located approximately 9 mi north of Jerusalem and 0.6 mi west of et-Tell, the site most scholars identify as Joshua’s Ai. There is a major problem identifying et-Tell as Joshua’s Ai, however, as the site was unoccupied at the time of the Israelite Conquest of Canaan...

Unfortunately, Dr. Rainey has presented little for the Beitin = Bethel case that has not already been considered. He has ably restated traditional opinions regarding the location. In spite of the evidence we present in our first article, he obviously concludes we are wrong (which, of course, he has every right to do). However, we urge the reader to look carefully at all the evidence, and lack of it, and decide for himself on the basis of evidence, not votes. We urge serious readers to become familiar with our previous article...

For over a century most scholars have been agreed that the village of Beitin, north of Jerusalem, is the site of biblical Bethel. A large quantity of literature has been published based on this assumption. With such careful and painstaking work, much of it basic to an understanding of Palestinian archaeology and history, it hardly seems possible that Beitin may not actually be Bethel after all. Nevertheless, that is what we purpose...

The sites of Joshua’s Ai, Beth Aven and Bethel, are chronologically and geographically linked by Josh 7:2 and related passages. Joshua’s Ai is commonly thought to be located at et-Tell and Bethel at Beitin. Assuming these two
identifications to be correct, no viable location for Beth Aven has been suggested. A detailed review of the geographical and archaeological data pertaining to et-Tell and Beitin reveals that et-Tell does not meet the biblical requirements for Joshua’s Ai, and Beitin does not meet the biblical and extrabiblical requirements for Bethel. Based on present evidence, the only combination that meets the complex matrix of biblical and extrabiblical requirements for the three sites is to locate Bethel at el-Bira, Beth Aven at Beitin, and Joshua’s Ai at the newly excavated site of Khirbet el-Maqatir...

Ralph Hawkins sidesteps the insurmountable problems associated with a late-date exodus-conquest and offers five arguments which he suggests may open up the possibility of a renewed consideration of the Late Date Exodus-Conquest as a viable choice for evangelicals...

Jericho was once thought to be a “Bible problem” because of the seeming disagreement between archaeology and the Bible. When the archaeology is correctly interpreted, however, the opposite is the case. The archaeological evidence supports the historical accuracy of the Biblical account in every detail. Every aspect of the story that could possibly be verified by the findings of archaeology is, in fact, verified...

The story of the Israelite conquest of Jericho (Joshua 2-6) is one of the best known and best loved in the entire Bible. The vivid description of faith and victory has been a source of inspiration for countless generations of Bible readers. But did it really happen as the Bible describes it?

The 13th century exodus-conquest theory was formulated by William F. Albright in the 1930s, based largely on Palestinian archaeological evidence, and promoted by him throughout his career. In spite of the fact that the theory runs counter to Scripture, a number of evangelicals continue to hold to this view...

The correct locations for both biblical Bethel and its twin city of Ai are crucial for chronology (since excavation at the-wrong sites could be completely misleading chronologically), topography (this should fit the detailed biblical description) and geography...

Most scholars today locate Old Testament Bethel at the Arab village of Beitin about 11 mi north of Jerusalem. An examination of the evidence, however, indicates that this identification in incorrect. Finding Ai has been a major focus of ABR’s research work...

Shechem is the natural capital of the hill country of central Canaan. It is protected by mountains, has an abundant water supply, and is blessed with wide, fertile fields to the east and west. Throughout much of the Middle and Late Bronze Ages and into the Iron I period, it was the most powerful city-state in the region...

Attempts to correlate the findings of archaeology with the biblical record for the period under review have seemingly met with insurmountable ob­stacles. Much of the scholarly community today has despaired of making any valid connections and has dismissed biblical history prior to the king­dom period as nothing more than myth and legend...

Scholars have been unable to come up with a viable site for Beth Aven. The reason is clear. Since the inception of historical-geographical research in Palestine, Bethel and Ai have been incorrectly located, thus obscuring the location of Beth Aven...

For some time now many archaeologists, based on certain interpretations of the available evidence, have become convinced that there was no violent military assault on the land by Israel. They believe the entire account is myth...

As one schooled in the scientific method, it disturbs me that, in addition to the say-so of esteemed authority figures, many times opinions are driven by preconceived notions, received knowledge, arguments from silence or majority opinion...

One of the most vociferously attacked historical accounts in the Bible is the Old Testament description of the Israelite Conquest of Canaan as recorded in the book of Joshua. According to many critics, the archaeological evidence does not support either the Biblical version or date of the Conquest events...